Disenchanted
by Ivory Muse
Summary: "Aunt Wu told him to follow his heart- it's lead him through endless twists and crashed straight into dead ends, and he never expected the end result." Fifty sentences on Aang and Mai.


#01- Motion: She watches the Avatar's quick, graceful bursts of movement with ever-observant eyes- _perhaps we are not so different, you and I._

_#_02- Cool: Mai is Katara's polar opposite- dismissive where she is caring, apathetic where she is passionate- and he doesn't know how the world's warmest nation bears such a cool woman.

#03- Young: She is three years his senior, yet when he spouts a proverb or delivers a rousing speech, it's easy to forget that.

#04- Last: "It won't last," Aang is told from all corners, and has dozens of noble girls thrust in front of him- Mai grits her teeth and vows to _make _it work, even if it's only to spite them.

#05- Wrong: Mai stares at the slumbering figure beside her on their futon- blue arrow tattoos in place of a scar, a peaceful smile in place of a worried grimace- and is suddenly besieged by guilt.

#06- Gentle: Aang never expected blunt, practical Mai to have a light touch, but as she gently traces the outline of the livid burn scar on his back, only her raspy apology is softer,

#07- One: Katara has been at the forefront of his mind ever since he was twelve- now Mai has firmly shoved her out of that position, and he thinks he might just be able to love more than once in his lifetime.

#08- Thousand: Her parents angrily list a thousand reasons as to why the Avatar is a thoroughly unsuitable mate, and the more they rant and rage, the more she is convinced- in the opposite direction.

#09- King: Mai has abandoned what she once loved most- Firelord Zuko- and with that, she has sealed her fate, for better or for worse.

#10- Learn: He's never properly used conventional weapons before, and when Mai attempts to teach him to throw shuriken at stone targets he's set up, she throws her hands up in frustration after an hour_, _a tiny smile on her face.

#11- Blur: There's a metallic blur he barely registers and the next second he's pinned to the wall by his sleeves; Aang swears that he can hear a muffled sob before Mai makes a swift exit.

#12- Wait: "Wait!" he calls out from his unfortunate position- unbelievably, she stops.

#13- Change: The first time he sees her loose hair, a silken black cascade in place of her stiff ox-horns, he is entranced by such a simple change.

#14- Command: "Stay here," he whispers as the first rebel fireballs begin to fall, and for the first time in her life, she is not tempted to disobey.

#15- Hold: After their first month of dating, Mai is willing to intertwine her cool fingers with his in public- considering her, that's good progress.

#16- Need: It has been her greatest desire ever since earliest childhood to be free, and roaming the world with Aang, that particular need is always fulfilled.

#17- Vision: His mind is not at ease even during sleep, for that's when dreams of her torment him; he wakes up panting in the middle of the night, wondering when Katara vanished from them.

#18- Attention: Aang always listens when she speaks- that is worth more to her than a thousand meaningless vanities.

#19- Soul: Koh pays her a visit in the dead of the night, convinced that the Avatar prizes her above his duty to the world- after demonstrating her fantastic ability to school her features into a blank mask for extended periods of time, he slinks back to the Spirit World with his tail between his legs.

#20- Picture: Their wedding portrait exaggerates her sharp cheekbones and puts his arrows in the wrong places, but the simplicity of the charcoal captures the spirit of the occasion, and he can live with that.

#21- Fool: "Idiot," she mutters as she pulls thorns out of his legs, "what in Agni's name did you think would happen if you crash-landed your glider into the shrubbery?"

#22- Mad: She goes to visit Azula once, just once, and after seeing the younger girl slumped against her chains, obviously too sedated to register her presence, she flatly tells Aang never again- he doesn't protest, but tries to kiss her and make it better.

#23- Child: Mai has always seen child=rearing as an unpleasant duty- now she wonders how she could have thought such a thing as she watches Tenzin sleep, his tiny chest rising and falling.

#24- Now: There is no past, no duties or expectations or social mores- there is only now, their lips locked in silent rebellion.

#25- Shadow: She's always considered herself too mature for childish games, but when Aang wants to make shadow figures on the walls, she grudgingly obliges.

#26- Goodbye: His lips touch Mai's for the first time- _I'm sorry it had to end this way, Katara. _

#27- Hide: The Water Tribe girl with the stupid hair loopies lays her hand on Aang's shoulder and Mai turns her head to hide the jealousy flashing across her face.

#28- Fortune: Aunt Wu told him to follow his heart- it's lead him through endless twists and crashed straight into dead ends, and he never expected the end result.

#29- Safe: The Avatar is a dangerous partner, one she's abandoned everything to be with, but she scorns safety, anyway.

#30- Ghost: The Southern Air Temple has been refurbished a hundred times over, yet Mai still feels as though the spirits of the airbenders surround her wherever she goes, and it unnerves her.

#31- Book: "This is completely inaccurate- the Air Nomads didn't steal children," Aang loudly complains as he looks over one of her old history textbooks- _we'll have to have enough of out own so that that's unnecessary, won't we?_

_#_32- Eye: During their yearly reunion at the Jasmine Dragon, their eyes lock for a second or so in a moment of mute, regretful understanding.

#33- Never: Mai never believed in sugary happy endings even as a child, and after the hell she and Aang have been through just to be together, she still scorns them.

#34- Sing: Aang thinks about serenading Mai on her next birthday- then a vivid image of blades flying towards his mouth makes him reconsider.

#35- Sudden: "I will _never _get used to that," Mai grouses as Aang appears seemingly out of nowhere- damn airbending.

#36- Stop: "Stop teasing me," Aang says with a stifled moan, Mai's hot breath against his ear.

#37- Time: Time heals all wounds, and Mai finds that yes, not only can she love, she can love again.

#38- Wash: They once try to make love in the bathhouse- after Mai nearly breaks her elbows against the wall of the tub and Aang inhales a mouthful of bubbles, they both vow to stick to the bedroom.

#39- Torn: "I love you," he says to Katara, plastering a wide smile onto his face, because maybe if he repeats it enough times, it'll become true.

#40- History: Aang likes to tell stories- Mai likes that she's a thread on the tapestry of his.

#41- Power: This is a new kind of power, one that even Azula has never possessed, the ability to make the Avatar writhe and shake beneath her.

#42- Bother: Why should he bother getting out of bed when his wife is still in it?

#43- God: He may be a spirit destined to maintain peace in the world, but he is still subject to the passions of men.

#44- Wall: The first time they have sex is against a wall in a secluded alleyway, her back roughly pressed up to the bricks, and for a few moments her world is reduced down to a sharp ache between her thighs and a flushed body on top of hers.

#45- Naked: Around Aang she allows herself to be naked, vulnerable- she is surprised by how the world doesn't end because of that, and he doesn't think any less of her.

#46- Drive: "_Please _tell me that you'll never make me ride on your enormous fluffy beast every again," Mai says with a groan, trying not to look down.

#47- Harm: Even when Mai holds a dagger up to his throat, lightly kissing his delicate skin with the cool metal, he trusts her.

#48- Precious: "Touch my fireflakes again and you die," Mai snaps, snatching an enormous handful from the still overflowing bag.

#49- Hunger: Never has he experienced such a longing for Mai to expose more than snatches of her smooth alabaster skin, and her teasing smirk is all the more maddening.

#50- Believe: Mai doesn't have any illusions about true love anymore, but she believes that maybe, just maybe, life with Aang isn't quite so bleak after all.


End file.
